Genesis and the chemical philosophy

"In the following pages, I will outline the complex intellectual traditions surrounding the interaction of chemistry and Genesis from classical times into the seventeenth century. I will detail the baptism of chemistry into a Christian natural philosophy by Paracelsus and his heirs in the sixteenth and seventeenth century. Chemical philosophers reexamined matter theory in light of Genesis. They developed a new epistemology, which focused on experiencing nature rather than relying on accepted texts. This attitude fostered quantitative experimentation, which ultimately transformed chemistry. With this transformation, Genesis itself lost its importance; the 'reading' of nature was no longer dependent on theological considerations. Chemistry moved from a theological to secular interpretation of nature, as is found in modern science."--Preface, p. xiii.